RAMALLAH, West Bank — My first visit to the big Palestinian city since the start of the current wave of terror ended with an optimistic smile.
On the way home, my escorts thought the fastest way out of the city and through the jammed Qalandia checkpoint would be to catch a ride at the closest point to the Israeli security check. “This is Shlomi and he’s from Israel, could you take him in your car?” my escort asked a random Palestinian woman. Her teenage son sat beside her. To my surprise, her response was “Ahlan wa sahlan” — “Welcome.” Here’s a thought experiment: How would an Israeli woman respond if I asked her, “This is Mohammad from Ramallah, could you take him in your car?”